Letter 2: Balaklava near Sebastopol: September 30th, 1854

Captain WP Richards

Added by Marjie Bloy, Ph.D.,
Senior Research Fellow, National University of Singapore. Christopher Hibbert, who used parts of these letters in his Destruction of Lord Raglan acknowledges Richard Dyer-Bennet, Snr. Cynthia Dyer-Bennet, his granddaughter, has graciously granted permission to include the correspondence in the Victorian Web, and according to her, her grandfather typed the transcriptions in 1961.

My dear Aunt,

I received your 2nd letter yesterday dated September the 2nd, the other received
was your first, so there are two missing. It is much the safest plan to sent
letters by the post, as the two you sent by private hands I have not received.
Let me know in your next by whom they were sent, and I may get them. I have
also received the tea, but not the arrow-root. You could not have chosen two
more acceptable articles, as tea is what we principally drink, and the arrowroot
would have come in at Varna where we were suffering
from Diarrhoea. I wrote three long letters, to my mother about a fortnight ago,
marked 1, 2, 3, and I have marked this 4. By this means you will know if any
have miscarried. If you should not be at Weston when you receive this, pray
forward it to her, as I have not time at present to write to both.

My last letter was written at about 60 miles from Odessa, so I shall start
again from that place. We waited there for two days till the French transports
joined us and then sailed down the coast to Eupatoria, which is a small town
on the left side of a large bay, the name of which I forget, but you will see
Eupatoria on the map. This was surrounded and
capitulated, and was taken possession of by a small force, and we then went
on to the other side of the bay, where there was a capital landing place on
a large sand bank, which divided a salt water lake from the sea. The dis-embarkation
immediately took place, all the Infantry and the Artillery of the light Division,
as well as that of my Division were landed. I was one of the last dis-embarked
that day, viz. the 14th. The next two or three days it went on until we landed.
We then marched forward by easy stages, the men being so pulled down by cholera,
diarrhoea etc. that even on a march of five
miles they fell out by hundreds.

This
map is taken from Christopher Hibbert's The Destruction of Lord Raglan,
(Longmans, 1961), p. 10, with the author's kind permission. Copyright, of course,
remains with Dr Hibbert.

Click on the image for a larger view

On the morning of the 18th we arrived at the river
Belbec where we first saw the enemy consisting of about three or four thousand
Cossacks, with some guns. The Cavalry and Horse Artillery had a skirmish with
them, some few horses were killed, and a few legs taken off by round shot, but
no prisoners. The next morning we moved on, the Fleet and transport following
us inshore, next to them the French, to the amount of 25,000, and then the Turks,
about 7,000 and last of all, the English on the left, about 30,000, out of these
you must take from 8 to 10,000 sick, baggage guards, stragglers, etc. so we
had about 45,000 fighting men.

On the morning of the 20th we formed up in the above
order and advanced to the river Alma, where on the
other side, on a range of steep hills rising from the water's edge, we saw the
Russian Army drawn up in order of battle, with three or four very strong batteries
thrown up in their front, commanding the passage. The guns were 24-pounders,
the Infantry between 40 and 50,000 and about 9,000 Cavalry. Their position a
most formidable one, so much so, that after the action, there was found in Prince
Minchikoff's carriage, which was captured, a dispatch for the
Czar, in which he says we should not be able to take it for three weeks
or two months.

After Lord Raglan had taken a look at it, the
attack commenced; the French crossed the river low down, near its mouth,
to turn the Russian left, we attacked in front, I forgot to tell you there is
a very pretty village on the banks of the river, between the two armies, which
they pillaged the night before, and set fire to it before the action, the battle
commenced by the Rifles skirmishing down into the village. The Infantry formed
line and advanced under a shower of shot and
musketry to force the bridge. We galloped down to the river bank and opened
fire upon the enemy's batteries, the Russians had stuck up a lot of white poles
to mark the range, so they immediately knew by these posts what elevation to
give their guns. In consequence the 24 pdr. shots tore through us very quickly,
and the shells were bursting in every direction, one burst over my head, the
bullets from it fell in a shower all round me. One went though my sabretache,
one flattened against my horse's head, and others in my coat etc. but not one
injured me. Our fire in the meantime was first rate, the first shot I made killed
the whole of the gun detachment of their left gun in the principal battery,
well, after a time the Infantry, who were all this time advancing, forced them
[the Russians] to retire, and the French were advancing over the heights on
the left, and taking them in flank, they began to retire. We galloped up just
in time to catch two large battalions of Poles of the Russian Guards, who were
going to charge our Infantry. We opened from 18 guns a tremendous fire of shells,
they stood it for some time, at last they broke, flung everything away and ran
like fun, in the meantime they had been beaten at all other points, and were
retreating in great confusion. If we had had any cavalry to follow it up, we
should have put them all to flight, and taken all their Guards. It was a most
bloody action, we lost 2,000 men, killed and wounded, and 110 officers, more
than half the latter killed, some of the regiments suffered awfully. The 23rd
lost 300 men killed and wounded, 8 officers killed and four wounded, but you
will see all this in the papers. We took two guns and five spare carriages,
several hundred prisoners, and some colours.

I had a piece of great luck, after we broke the two Battalions I mentioned
before, in following their retreat I captured a Russian General, covered with
orders, and after the action gave him over to Lord Raglan. Our Battery is I
hear mentioned in three dispatches, as having distinguished itself very much,
viz. by Sir De Lacy Evans, General Strangways
and the Duke of Cambridge. We lost
three officers, viz Capt. Dew, a very old friend of mine and Lieuts. Walsham
and Cockerell, all killed by cannon shot. Well, we halted for two days to send
the wounded on board ship and bury the dead. It was a most horrible sight, in
front of the great battery, the dead and wounded were laying by hundreds, the
latter crying out for water, there being a burning sun, and a great want of
medical men to dress the wounds. There was a great deal
of plunder taken, I took several things, among them a beautiful Russian pony
belonging to a lady, several of whom came out to see the English get a thrashing,
but I am glad to say they were disappointed. Another of our fellows got something
very fine in the way of bonnets, on the third day we advanced, and came in sight
of Sebastopol. On the right of it, they had several strong batteries erected
to dispute the passage of the river Katcha, but we turned them by crossing higher
up. On the banks of this were the villas of the Russian Nobility and the rich
people of Sebastopol, and you never saw such plunder as some of the men got,
the houses were very magnificently furnished, pin glasses 7 feet high, beautiful
china, gilt furniture etc., etc.

We encamped there that night. Next day reconnoitred the town, and it was found
to be very weak on the left side, so we moved round
through a large wood in that direction. Our Battery was leading. All of a sudden
we came on a large body of the enemy to the amount of 6,000 men, with a large
convoy of wagons full of all their valuables, directly they saw us, they charged
and nearly took Lord Raglan who was in front reconnoitring. He had all his staff,
and about 20 dragoons as escort, we advanced and showed our teeth, they immediately
ran like the devil, leaving everything. We took several prisoners and lots of
spoil, in fact one did not know what to keep, and what to throw away, provisions
of all sorts, richly laced jackets, beautiful shawls, jewellery of all descriptions,
pictures, in fact every-thing. The prisoners said they had lost 10,000 men at
Alma, and that they should never face us again, as they came there to fight
men, and not devils in red coats.

Next day, the Light Division and ours [the
1st Division] advanced here, and after a slight skirmish took the Fort, Town
and harbour of Balaklava. The steamers shelling
it from the sea, and we attacked from the land. Since then we have been busy
landing the siege guns which is nearly finished. The rest of the Army are gone
on, and are now within a mile of the Town. We remain to cover the landing of
the guns, as there are 15,000 Russians in our rear, so I expect we shall have
a fight soon, if they can pluck up courage to attack us. They ought to, as we
have only 5,000 here to meet them, but that is quite enough.

I have now in a bungling sort of fashion brought you from on board ship off
Odessa to a position about four miles in rear of the left side of Sebastopol,
close to the sea, where for the present we will leave the Gallant 1st Division
and talk of something else. In the first place as regards myself, I have never
enjoyed better health than of late, and find that the rough work we undergo
does me much good. We are in the saddle most days for 12 or 14 hours, besides
cooking one's dinner and making oneself comfortable for the night. We get up
about ¼ after four of a morning and are asleep by 9. I was going to say
in bed, but that is a thing we have not met for some time. We get 1 lb. of biscuit
and ¾ lbs of pork, or 1 lb. of fresh meat per day and ¼ gill of
rum, not much you will say to live on, but we manage by foraging to eke it out
with cabbage, turnips, fowls, pumpkins, water melons and grapes, the latter
beautiful, and we find they have improved the health of the men wonderfully.
We also capture a hive of bees occasionally.

You will be sorry to hear of the death of poor Patton, who died on board ship
of fever and fretting, he having been absent through illness from the Battle
of the Alma. He was ashore the evening before and died next morning. His Brother
is here, very like him, he is much regretted, being much liked by everybody
in the Regiment. General Tylden is also dead of cholera, besides hosts of others
I do not know personally. Ayde is quite well, poor Fields is gone home ill,
as also Willet, and several Lieuts. The climate has carried off more men and
officers than would be killed in a whole campaign. I have not seen O'Flaharty
lately. He does not belong to our Division, and one seldom sees anyone else,
having no time to wander about. I saw H. Dashwood the other day, he is quite
well, but Cap. Dashwood had been very far from it, being knocked up after a
very long march, which he has not yet recovered, but I hope he will be better
e'er long.

I do not know whether you will be able to make out this scrawl, but we have
no table, and I write this by laying on by face on the ground. I will not write
again before the taking of Sebastopol, which is not far distant. It is Lord
Raglan's intention, if the weather holds up, to attack the other towns, and
the Russian army after the fall of the above place, and then to return to Sebastopol
and winter there. I do not fancy Mary Stacey's match very much. I think she
is a great deal too good for him. I am sorry to hear of poor Eustacia being
so near her end. I should have much liked to have seen her before I left England.
I have not seen her since she was quite a child, and suppose I never shall again
— has anything certain been heard of her Brother, I heard a good deal about
him from a shipmate of his. By the way, talking of seeing in the newspapers
E. Richard's law suit. I beg to insinuate that all contributions in that way
(no matter how old, or of what description) are most thankfully received by
this portion of the British public. What a fuss they are keeping up about young
Perry, no doubt the 46th contain some unmitigated blackguards, but that is no
reason that they should abuse the whole Army in consequence, one swallow does
not make a summer.

I have no more room and cannot afford another sheet of paper, at present, so
will put up. With best love to all at home believe me dear Aunt,